Carlos Bladimir Corado Hernandez is a priest from the Diocese of Santa Ana, El Salvador. He is 31 years old and was ordained on January 7, 2017. From 2011 to 2016, he was a former student of the Bidasoa International Seminary. He has now returned to the University of Pamplona to complete his degree in Dogmatic Theology.
When he returned to his diocese, he was appointed parochial vicar of the parish of Santísimo Redentor por el Calvario in Ahuachapán and for three years he accompanied many people with his ministry and formation to the laity. In addition, he was a teacher in a Catholic school and collaborated as a professor in the San Juan XXIII Seminary of his diocese.
Carlos, a Salvadoran priest, spoke with CARF to learn about his mission as a priest and the needs of his country.
What are the most important apostolic needs in El Salvador?
El Salvador is a very small country territorially, wrapped in a great history and great conflicts. A few days ago we celebrated the 30th anniversary of the peace accords that ended the war that devastated the country. That painful part of our history has caused psychological wounds and poverty. Therefore, I believe that one of the most important apostolic needs of our country is to work with the youth and also formation.
As a result of the war, young people today often do not find opportunities to get ahead and this implies that these young people look for inadequate ways to solve their problems. The Church needs to bet for the youth, for their human and Christian formation, which is a difficult stage and it is necessary to lay good foundations to have good citizens. If there are good people, the country will be better. As Benedict XVI said, if there are no righteous, there will be no justice either. We need young people with good values.
The latest information confirms that Protestantism has surpassed Catholicism in El Salvador, and this is a constant that is happening throughout Latin America ....
Latin America has the peculiarity of the massive presence of sects associated with Protestantism. It is true, Catholicism is decreasing in our country for several reasons. In the first place, in El Salvador and in general in our Latin American countries we live a simpler faith that does not look for so many reasons to believe, a faith that lives from the encounter and the relationship. In this sense, people seek in their relationship with God, that simplicity that sometimes is not well understood. People seek a deeper experience, a more sentimental experience of that encounter with the Lord, and sometimes this is misunderstood and sometimes falls into sentimentalism. Some sects offer these experiences.
The second reason is that, coupled with this, one of the challenges we have is the formation of people. I have met people who have left the Church because they thought that our faith offers erroneous beliefs. For example, Protestants call us idolaters for praying in front of images of saints. For this reason, people need to be formed. It is a challenge for the Church in El Salvador: to help people understand more about their Catholic faith so that they can have a living encounter with the Lord.
Carlos Bladimir Corado Hernández is a priest of the diocese of Santa Ana, El Salvador. He is 31 years old and was ordained on January 7, 2017. From 2011 to 2016, he was a former student of the Bidasoa International Seminary. He has now returned to the University of Pamplona to complete his degree in Dogmatic Theology.
In the picture, a mass offered by the alumni of Bidasoa de El Salvador for Mr. Juan Antonio Gil Tamayo, formator of the International Seminary and very dear to all, who passed away recently.
Is there good harmony between Protestants and Catholics in El Salvador?
I have family members who are Protestants. However, we are not very prone to create fruitful dialogues in our environments. This is perhaps a pending task for the unity of Christians and to strengthen those relationships in order to achieve the unity that the Lord wants, that all may be one.
On the Synod of Bishops and synodality What does El Salvador need in this regard?
What we need is to listen to the people, which is what the Pope has told us. Listen to each other. We pastors need to listen to the people and their spiritual needs. We also need to listen to the laity. And we also need to listen to each other as pastors and bishops and listen to the needs of the laity. the priests Why have there been so many scandals in the Church? Perhaps we have been careless among priests.
"I believe that one of the most important apostolic needs of our country is to work with the youth. and also training".
You have just beatified 4 martyrs of the Salvadoran war, who join Saint Oscar Romero. How did you experience this event?
It has been a historic moment of joy and it fills us with strength. We have a great lack of knowledge of these people and we Catholics must know our saints. May this beatification also serve to reconcile all of us Salvadorans.
Any final words for the benefactors and friends of CARF?
I am very grateful that I can relate my experience as a priest made possible by so many anonymous benefactors who give from what they have and not from what is left over. Generous people are those who have a big heart for giving. And I thank them for the opportunity they have given me to be able to study at the University of Navarra, thus helping the Church and also my country, El Salvador. I have very good memories of Bidasoa. I assure you of my prayers and commend you in the Eucharist."
Marta Santín
Journalist specializing in religious information
